Steven was ready for another baby LONG before I was. Truth be told, I'm still not ready, but I'm at peace with the idea. I knew that if I didn't just take the plunge, I would never do it, especially as things continued to get easier with Caroline. One of the biggest factors was also the fact that we only have a limited time left in Wichita Falls, and while it may not be the most glamorous place to live, it is certainly a great place to have babies, especially as far as the military is concerned. I'm not really into wondering if my husband will be present for the birth of our children. That being said, I still had my limits. The absolute closest age range I could fathom was 2 years. Caroline and her little sister will be 2 years and 4 months apart. One humorous aspect was how our families reacted to the news. Their reactions pretty much sum up the difference between my side of the family and Steven's. My parents pretty much said "Wow. Really? So soon? Oh my." I think they thought we had made an "oopsie", but it was actually intentional, which I think they found even harder to believe. Steven's family's reaction was pretty much "Well it's about time! We were beginning to wonder!". At the end of the day, everyone was excited for us, even if they thought we were crazy.
This pregnancy started out basically the exact same way my first did: MORNING SICKNESS. I had horrible morning sickness with Caroline and it was no different with this one. The only difference was that this time I had an almost 2 year old to try to keep up with every day. I know this sounds crazy, but toddlers don't really understand the concept of "Mommy feels like she is going to die while hugging the toilet, so no, we can not go outside". I threw up EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It was pretty miserable. Of course I remembered that I was horribly sick with Caroline, but I didn't really remember. I lost weight during the first trimester with Caroline and this time around was no different. Poor Steven had to come home and pretty much take over every single night. The poor man didn't have a meal cooked for him for about 3 months. Thankfully, he can do a lot more than make toast, so he didn't suffer too badly. We got through it, but I honestly don't know how Christmas happened. I didn't even decorate. Yeah, it was that bad.
Once I got through the first 15 weeks, things got much easier. Ever since then, I haven't had any problems and really can't complain about too much. I have noticed that things start to get uncomfortable a little sooner the second time around, but nothing too terrible. My back has bothered me more this time around, but I think that is to be expected.
And of course, since this is the second baby, I haven't been as good about keeping track of things. I didn't take pics of my belly every week with Caroline, but I did a little better than I have with this one. I decided that I would at least try to take pictures around the same time that I took pics with Caroline. I thought it would be kind of fun to see how my pregnancies compared, physically. But to be totally honest, once you've seen your body stretched to its limits once, it isn't nearly as exciting to see it go there again. But I am trying because I don't want this little lady to be jealous of everything I did for Caroline.
One huge difference in my pics: last time I always got Steven to take them. This time, well, I'm doing good to remember them, so I have been taking "selfies" in the mirror. For the record, I have to give those annoying people on Facebook more credit for all of the obnoxious pictures they take of themselves in the mirror etc. Here's to you annoying duck face girls. I never realized how difficult of a task that actually was, but I digress. I also tried to make sure that I looked cute and had make-up on, etc. the first time around. This time I have taken most of my pics in the morning before I run out the door to Stroller Strides.
Notice anyone else in this pic??? Yup, that's the world's best photobomber.
As far as cravings go, I have craved a little bit of everything. In the beginning, it was pineapple. I was eating 1-2 pineapples a week all by myself. I couldn't get enough. Then I went through a pancake phase. I pretty much ate pancakes for every meal. But the one craving that has been pretty steady through this entire pregnancy so far has been avocados. I can not get enough of them. One of my favorite things has been an avocado mozzarella sandwich. Pop that thing in my panini press and YUM. I pretty much eat that for lunch every day. But I haven't been limited to sandwiches. If I want an avocado badly enough, I just take a spoon to that bad boy. I have been eating at least one avocado a day, so this baby will probably cure cancer with all of that brain food.
Now, not to mislead you, but I am not one of those "healthy" pregnant people and that I don't also crave junk. Oh no. I have a sweet tooth on a regular day, but once again, while pregnant, it is in overdrive. I was the same way with Caroline. I think the old wives' tale about craving sweets with a girl must be somewhat accurate because I love them. But, the difference between this pregnancy and my last is my feeble will-power. I definitely think about everything I eat before I eat it this time around, mainly because I remember how hard it was to take off. That doesn't mean I don't eat it. I just means that I think about that Dairy Queen cookie dough Blizzard for three days before I actually go get it. That is about as strong as my will-power gets.
One thing that I have done differently this time around is I have stayed in much better shape, as far as working out goes. I still go to Stroller Strides a couple times a week. The good thing about Stroller Strides is that most of it can be adapted to big ol' fatties like me. I'm not running any more, but I am proud to say that I can at least still do push-ups. My compromise with Steven was that I could keep going to Stroller Strides as long as I didn't run past a certain point. He thinks that a pregnant woman working out is about the craziest thing ever. His view of pregnancy is feet propped up on the couch with a bucket of chicken. The bigger, the better. I was very "active" with Caroline, but I pretty much stopped working out when I was in my first trimester and was so sick. After I got to feeling better, I was thrown right into student teaching and finishing my Masters and then moving. I certainly kept busy and moved around a lot, but it wasn't true excercise. I'm hoping that by staying active now will help make things easier to get back into fighting shape once this little lady comes out. Fingers crossed.
I'm 28 weeks this week, and all things considered, I'm still feeling pretty darn well. I'm officially in my 3rd trimester, but I haven't slowed down much, mostly because I don't have a choice. There are only so many hours in the day, and I think I feel like I am on even more of a time crunch this time around. I remember all too well how life all but came to a screeching halt. I am currently in the middle of finishing the girls' room, so that is keeping me very busy, along with my mom gig. I've gained about 12 pounds so far, so I'm not totally miserable yet. I can still get around pretty well and most of the time I have to remind myself that I am pregnant and I probably shouldn't be doing something.
I can't believe that I only have 11 or 12 weeks left of this pregnancy. It is flying by WAY too fast. I had Caroline 8 days early, and I was probably the one woman in the world that didn't want to have my baby early, mostly because I just didn't feel ready. This time around, I'll probably be two weeks late, just because it will be the middle of July and I will look and feel like a stuffed sausage. Oh well. She has to come out eventually. I'm just hoping she stays in there as long as she needs. I'm not ready for any surprises.
Well, that's about it. If you made it this far into this post, I admire your perseverance. My husband certainly can't manage to listen to me ramble on and on, so you get a gold star. Until next time...
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